What the silence says…

Despite being a nonprofit with a legal and ethical commitment to transparency, Newfields (formerly Indianapolis Museum of Art) remains silent regarding the sudden departure of President and CEO Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette who was hired to reface Newfields after a series of racial casualties and an internal truth made public by her predecessor, Dr. Charles Venable. In an honest attempt to hire a polished prospect who could or would straddle the racial line, Venable published the studied “prototype” by whistleblowing in the job post describing the institution’s demand to diversify but “maintain the museum’s traditional core, white art audience.” The open sentiment and language enraged some of the public, publicly. It has been said the institution’s donors began adding (racial) contingencies before releasing funds or making threats to do so. In hopes of rectifying repeated racial wrongdoings, as described by curator Kelli Morgan, who resigned and told of the toxic workplace and board members’ racially explosive tirades in board meetings, it all proved too much for the public especially when the world was still voicing its frustration of the brutally broadcasted murder of George Floyd by a police officer. The art world, in general, and Newfields paid heightened attention to...